By Ogova Ondego
Published November 29, 2023
The 21st Century is referred to as the Information Era and this information is disseminated through various channels that reach mass audiences simultaneously. The avenues that serve this purpose are referred to as mass media.
Mass media are the main socialising agents of this century. As they shape the understanding of reality and provide identity to individuals and societies, access to and use of the mass media is viewed as a human rights issue that demands that every member of the human race not only accesses but also participates in the way the media function as providers of Information, Education, Entertainment and Persuasion.
RELATED: Alarm as Literate Kenyans Slide into Illiteracy
The comprehension of the role and the symbols these media use to communicate or pass on messages has become a basic skill at par with what education experts refer to as the three Rs—Reading, wRiting, aRithmetic—that contribute to the socio-economic development of societies. It is crucial that media tools be placed in the hands of children and youth for their advancement of self-expression on issues such as literacy, gender equity, human rights, environmental responsibility, global health and independent thought. This is where media literacy or the art and science of enlightening individuals on the opportunities and threats inherent in modern mass media come into play. Media literacy is the ability to access, analyse and produce effective communication, i.e. gathering, processing and disseminating messages that bring about stability or change in society.
RELATED: Lola Kenya Screen Introduces Media Literacy Programme
Media literacy equips the individual with the skills to decipher the world of image, analyse media content, understand the human dimension in cyberspace, demytholise myths created by the world of media and helps create the mass media that are beneficial to society.
A media literate individual is one who not only understands the classic 5Ws (Who, What, Where, When, Why) and H (How) of life and events but also how and where to apply them.
A media literate individual is therefore an empowered human being who knows how to both use media messages and participate in the modern society on which the mass media reign supreme.
RELATED: Integrate Oral Cultures in Education for Development
It is on the basis of the argument advanced above that the generation of today and tomorrow—children and youth—should be equipped with the skills to understand, appreciate, create and consume culturally relevant and high quality content. This can be achieved by exploring, identifying, nurturing and proudly exhibiting or flaunting creative talent among children and youth in journalism, filmmaking, arts appreciation, and organisation and presentation of events as the Nairobi-based Lola Kenya Screen audiovisual media festival, skills-development programme and marketing platform for children and youth in eastern Africa does.
At the centre of the Lola Kenya Screen are the practical, hands-on, learn-as-you-do skill-development mentorship programmes. The aim here is to equip participants with the skills to understand, appreciate, conceive, produce and consume high quality mass media content. This is done through five areas:
- Festival Press is aimed at uplifting the standards of creative and cultural journalism in eastern Africa
- Film Production empowers children and youth to make low-budget but culture-sensitive moving images
- Programme Planning and Presentation enables participants to organise and present events and programmes
- Critical Appreciation of Creativity (with emphasis on Film Criticism) inculcates in participants the skills with which to critically appreciate creativity in general and film in particular
- Media Literacy enlightens participants on the opportunities and threats inherent in the modern mass media, enabling them to not only understand the 5Ws and H formula of the mass media but also HOW and WHERE to apply them.
RELATED: Where to Find Your Favourite Kenyan Books in Physical and Digital Formats
Today’s media environment demands that one be equipped with media convergence skills to work across print, broadcast and online platforms.
Since moving images permeate the 21st century and it is children and youth to whom they appeal most, it is crucial that education institutions—from pre-school to secondary school—expose pupils and students to it to stimulate their imagination, “empathy, communication and symbolic thinking, as well as strengthening collaboration and problem solving skills” as Margot Blom and Klas Viklund argue in Film for Joy and Learning: Film Education in Sweden, a publication of the Swedish National Agency for Education and Swedish Film Institute.
Blom and Viklund contend that film not only teaches collaboration skills but also involves all the senses, sparks curiosity and inspire continued knowledge-seeking and the desire to learn more.
RELATED: Eastern Africa to Establish Puppetry as Artistic and Cultural Medium
As children and youth see films and talk about them, this helps them to gain a deeper understanding of both the content and the grammar of the moving image. Thus it is the responsibility of schools to equip pupils and students with the tools to deal with their media experiences, to shift through available information and take a critical stance to what they see and hear.
Integrating film in learning is likely to make it an enjoyable interactive process that agrees with the habits of today’s young people who are more likely than not to share content with others via cell phone or internet.
RELATED: Adultery Isn’t Always the Culprit in a Marriage Gone Sour
Blom and Viklund say films “open new worlds and communicate experiences of excitement, humour, tragedy and joy” and “help people to understand themselves and the world, and contribute to the development of an identity.”
Besides helping “provide opportunities for developing empathy and understanding of others,” movies also act as yardsticks for reviewing values and attitudes.
RELATED: Call for Animated Projects in Development
Filmmaking allows learners to express themselves and give form to their thoughts and feelings. They learn how to look for information and subject it to criticism while investigating and describing the world around them.
To be effective, learners are encouraged to share their work—films, reports—on social media, blogs and on their own websites to provoke discussion, debate, criticism and appreciation.
RELATED: Apply for Immersive and Flexible Master of Business Administration Course
This paper was prepared for BIC EduTalk 2.0 Roundtable Discussion on Education in Kenya to Mark Global Education Week at Villa Rosa Kempinski Hotel, Westlands, Nairobi, Kenya, on November 23, 2023.
